Collisional processes in the eastern Mediterranean

In the eastern Mediterranean the collision of the Erastosthenes and the Anaximander Seamounts with the Cyprus arc results in a unique tectonic setting due to the small size of the eastern Mediterranean basin. As a result of the collision, some of the motion between the African plate and the Eurasian plate is taking place by thrust faulting along the north African passive margin. It seems that the stress at the plate boundary along the Cyprus arc may be transmitted southward to cause the reactivation of a pre-existing fault zone along the passive margin of eastern north Africa.